<http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091103&content_id=7614928&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb

Great move by the Pirates IMO, Iwamura is a solid hitter and fielder, and they really just gave up a reliever for him. Looks bad for the Rays, but they have so much infield depth that they probably won't even feel it.

Ghick and I were talking about this earlier. In a way the Rays are lucky to have gotten anything at all since they had no leverage.

I guess this means there's no hope of us getting Aybar anymore. *cries*

Well first of all, we only started talking about Aybar because they needed a closer badly and we had Valverde before the deadline. Now we don't have any expendable resources with which to get Aybar (fair warning: saying "trade Wandy" to me may endanger your life), so it's kind of a moot point. That said though, they didn't even mention Aybar in that article when talking about their depth, so I don't know...it seems like they undervalue him to me, personally.

Yeah, the Rays area loaded in the IF. With Iwamura gone I think they'll hold onto him though.

"Yeah, the Rays area loaded in the IF."

This tidbit surprised me. Albert Pujols was 2nd overall with WAR in batting. Guess who is #1? Ben Zobrist. Unreal.

<www.fangraphs.com/

It's funny...It looked like such a huge fleecing when we got Huff for Zobrist and Talbot a few years back. Who would have guessed that Zobrist would go on to be such a beast? Talk about a late bloomer...

Zobrist wasn't entirely unheard of at the time. I don't think anyone anticipated him turning into an MVP candidate, but he looked like he could be a solid player.

Yeah...but to I always considered him maybe a good utility guy at best. I don't think anybody expected him to slug like he has with the Rays. His bat is really forcing them to find him a regular position. I wish the Astros had that problem.

My biggest issue with the whole deal was that we didn't make any effort to retain Huff.

Given the history, I doubt Pirates would retain Iwamura for the entire 2010 season.
He may be traded for a prospect or two even before the opening day.

I think Iwamura could be Astros' second baseman in the future.

But at this time, I hope Kaz regains his form next year...

I'd like to know how some players are viewed as showing their form when playing their best and other players are viewed as showing their form when playing their worst.

ie Matsui has not shown his true form for more than 200 ab at a time but Lidge is only showing his true form when blowing leads, even though he has had runs of much greater success for seasons at a time.

I'd like to know how some fans demand for a GM to be fired before he even completes his first season with a new franchise.

There are some things we may never learn... :-P

"Who would have guessed that Zobrist would go on to be such a beast? Talk about a late bloomer... "

Jerry "the Hun".

It's called HISTORY. He had a bad rep in MLB trades in Philadelphia. He would build up the farm well and then blow the advantage through trades. He appears to be on the same path here. I do NOT have to wait for a wreck to know there is a bad driver at the helm.

I'm amazed at the amount of rope some here are willing to give to him and the number of excuses for his mismanagement. If it's bad, it must be Drayton's fault and if it's good it must be due to Wade. It's either idiocy or dissociative disorder on a mass scale.

The HR power is the only thing surprising about Zobrist. The guy has been a very good hitter and an OBP machine every time he received consistent playing time as a professional.

When Aki came over from Japan for his first year with the Rays he played a great third base. He was moved to second when they decided to bring Longo up. He would have looked great at 3rd base in a Stros uni.

That same HISTORY has helped provide Philadelphia with arguably the best all-around team in the NL full of homegrown talent, or players that were traded for with homegrown talent. No GM is perfect, but every GM (or player, coach, etc.) deserves a fair shot before people jump down his throat.

I'm amazed at the lack of any rope some here are willing to give him and the number of excuses for his successes. If it's good, it must be the work of his scouts or a pre-arranged deal before he arrived, and if it's bad it must be due to Wade. It's either idiocy or a dissociative disorder on a mass scale.

How terribly unoriginal.

True.

But accurate.

"If it's good, it must be the work of his scouts or a pre-arranged deal before he arrived"

Don't forget the good old "it was obvious" excuse (the Pudge trade).